Mentone Springs Hotel and White
Elephant General Manager Judy Rathel said she and two customers were downstairs
shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday when they heard a loud pop and saw smoke coming
from upstairs. The power in the kitchen flickered off, and a guest sprinted to
the second floor with a fire extinguisher.

After reaching the top of the
stairs, Rathel said the man saw the electrical panel on fire. They immediately
called 911 and began evacuating the building.

Lee said there was "no need in
calling in an investigation" after reviewing eyewitness accounts.

Alabama State Fire Marshal Ed
Paulk told AL.com today that his office was not notified or called to
investigate the fire. Paulk said he sent a local fire marshal deputy to the
scene after learning about the blaze on the news Monday morning.

"Whenever something is that historic and is of significance
to the community, normally we are called in to investigate the cause of the
fire, especially in areas where they don't have trained staff to do that," he
said.

The Mentone Springs Hotel, which was built in 1884, was listed on the National Register of Historic
Places and featured in The New York Times bestseller "1,000 Places to See Before You Die."

Paulk said a general lack of security at the scene would
have made it difficult for his office to conduct a formal investigation of the
fire. Paulk said residents were "moving about and picking up things" at the
hotel complex.

In most cases, Paulk said it is a city or town's
responsibility to conduct its own fire investigation, but when there are no
qualified investigators, his office is usually called to assist at no cost.

"I had an obligation to determine
what was going on," he said. "I was told in the news story that an investigation
was underway. We wanted to make sure we were there to assist in the event
someone was going to do a proper investigation."

Jim Rotch, who is recovering from kidney stone removal
surgery, said insurance adjusters can't move forward with
their investigation until someone releases the scene to them.

"Nobody knows at this point what the cause of this fire was,"
he said. "I don't think it's any great mystery. Several people reported hearing
a popping sound and found flames on the second floor in or around the breaker
box, according to witnesses."